Crab Fest gets Xtratuf as sponsor, announces new logoThe Kodiak Chamber of Commerce released the logo for the 2015 Crab Fest and announced a big-name sponsor last week. The logo has a crab holding a pair of Xtratufs, the ubiquitous brown rubber boots, and Xtratuf has signed on as a sponsor for Saturday, May 23, dubbed “Xtratuf Day.” The logo was designed by born-and-raised Kodiakan Veronica Samaniego, who works at the Providence Kodiak Island Counseling Center, who ...

Public Safety Blotter: March 23March 10 Around 2:30 a.m., police conducted two bar checks downtown. At 9:46 a.m., a caller reported she received a call from someone saying they were the Internal Revenue Service. Another person called to report the same thing. They wanted it logged for information purposes. At 10:43 a.m., police red-tagged an abandoned vehicle on Alimaq Drive. At 1:21 p.m., a caller on Mission Road reported someone came into her...

Show us the contractTheory: A theory provides an explanatory framework for some observations. Fact: In 1992 George Bush #1 signed an agreement called Agenda 21 presented and provided by the United Nations. Or: Clinton is the first president to provide money toward its implementation. Or: The school Board had a surplus of $5 million a few weeks ago and now they don’t. The Borough is building a new $80 million school and there is no co...

Thanks for the donation My husband brought home recently a donation for my ALS bake sale fundraiser on March 7. To the woman who gave her donation to one of my volunteers who works at Safeway, I would like to say, "Thank you very much!” Her donation will be sent to the ALS Evergreen Chapter in Kent, Washington, which has Alaska in its territory. There is no ALS chapter in our state. — Sarah Thayer

FISH FACTOR: Personal use priority bill moves on Seven times is the charm for building some momentum on a measure that aims to give personal use fisheries a priority over commercial and sport users. As it stands now, the three fisheries all are on equal footing in the eyes and actions of state managers. The priority shift has been introduced during each of the last seven legislative sessions by (now) Sen. Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak, but has never made it past a fir...

Garden Gate: Young tomatoes need their own spaceIt’s time to answer questions that enter my consciousness by phone, email, text and Facebook messages. So here we go: Is it too early to start tomatoes? It is not too early to start tomatoes if you start them indoors. Not just on windowsills, but under lights, as in fluorescent light. But start tomatoes only if you also have enough space to support the larger plants they will become in four or six weeks. Jeff Lowe...

Dimond, West crowned champsDimond’s girls and West Anchorage’s boys were the last two teams standing at the 4A state basketball championships Saturday at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. Dimond ended West Valley’s perfect season with a 54-49 victory in the girls championship game. Rohyn Huss pumped in 21 points — 12 coming on 3-pointers — to lead the Lynx to their first state title since 2006 and fourth in school history. Maya Carle added 14 po...

Council authorizes $2.24 million settlement for Pier 3The Kodiak City Council authorized $2.24 million to pay for issues that have arisen with the new Pier 3 construction and authorized the design of a new city website. During Pier 3 construction, there have been several issues with the contractor, Pacific Pile and Marine, which the $2.24 million absolves. Some of the issues mentioned by city manager Aimée Kniaziowski during the Thursday meeting include storm damage ...

Teeing Off: Catching the March Madness feverI don’t consider myself a connoisseur of college hoops. But when it comes to the opening weekend of March Madness, I am all in. It is the best four days in sports. Heartbreak. Upsets. Buzzer-beaters. Cinderellas. The NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament has it all. And, I can’t get enough. Gizmo and I spent Friday and most of Saturday — it was so nice we had to get out of the apartment to have a catch — on ...